The Val Fowler Basketball Tournament is hosted by Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High School in conjunction with St John’s Diocesan School for Girls. The tournament is an annual event that has run for 29 years and it attracts top schoolgirl teams from South Africa and Zimbabwe.

This year, for the first time, St Mary’s entered two teams. Our 1st team participated in the A section and an invitational team made up of junior and senior players participated in the B section. The first team had an incredibly tough pool. They fought hard and played well and, ultimately, went on to qualify for the semi-finals where they met eventual tournament winners, Lereko Secondary School from Bloemfontein. The semi-final started off as an evenly contested affair but Lereko soon applied pressure by dominating in all areas of the court and went on to win the match. The 1st team ended in fourth position after losing to Pretoria Girls’ High in the playoff for third and fourth position.

The idea of sending an invitational team was to develop the depth of basketball at St Mary’s by exposing more players to a high standard of play. The invitational team not only developed but they also exceeded all expectations by winning their pool and winning their semi-final against a competent team from St Nicholas Diocesan School. Unfortunately, they lost in the final but a second-place finish was definitely something to celebrate.

The players are commended on their efforts and their commitment during a demanding weekend of basketball. A special thank you is extended to the matrics for their contribution to basketball at St Mary’s. Each gave of her very best in the last event of their final season. The coaches were outstanding and their expertise and efforts were rewarded with solid performances from both teams. Thank you Ms Ledwaba, Ms Makhalanyane and Ms Setswadi. We look forward to an exciting season next term!

Taryn de Winnaar
Head of Senour School Sport